Kidnappers Incorporated
by ian.cotterill.56
Summary: Clover is absolutely elated when her super-famous sister, Daphne, comes to visit, but things quickly go downhill when they both end up caught in the middle of a dastardly kidnap caper. Can Sam and Alex rescue their best friend and her sister in time? And how will Daphne react when she discovers Clover's career as a spy?
1. Prologue

**The author of this story would like to thank the reviewer Boris Yeltsin, who kindly provided the inspiration for this adventure, and jettmanas, who created some new cover-art.**

 **For those wondering, the idea of Clover having a sister came from a scene in the TV episode 'Zero To Hero', where Clover states she has a nephew, which in turn indicates that she has an older sibling.**

 **Hope you enjoy the story and please feel free to leave reviews if so inclined.**

* * *

It was a beautiful picturesque night in Hollywood Hills. The air was clear and stunning twinkling stars hung over the impressive Hollywood sign that had so long been the crowning landmark of Los Angeles.

It was a perfect night for a crime.

A bit further down the hill laid the mansion of Jon Baker, the world famous and extremely rich thespian actor who had wowed audiences many a time with his performances in numerous films adapted from the plays of Shakespeare, like 'Hamlet In Space' or 'A Bad Day For Julius Caesar'. By all rights, those films should have been flops, but such was Jon's considerable acting skills, that they became instant cult favourites, leading to greater fame with more popular films like 'Star Battles XIV' and 'Quest For Excalibur'. Over the last six years, he had won so many Oscars and awards, that he had the walls of the mansion's sitting room filled with glass cabinets to proudly display them for his friends and family to see.

It was this very display room that Baker was currently occupying, lounging in his favourite chair in front of the large telly that was currently playing on of his all-time classics, 'Raiders From The 5th Dimension'. In it, he was playing the lead hero, the dashing Professor Jim Strong who was working to foil the evil schemes of his arch foe, Lord Demon Master.

"I say, I sure am dashing, aren't I?" he mused to himself as he took another sip from his glass of soda.

A loud crashing sound from outside the room interrupted his vain thoughts and made him jump a bit abruptly from his comfy seat. Annoyed at being interrupted, Baker got up and moved to the sliding glass doors that led to the outdoor pool. To his surprise, he found that the doors were unlocked and had been slid wide open, allowing in a small breeze that had caused a small jade statue to fall onto the floor.

"Great, now I have to have that statue replaced and get those doors looked at," he grumbled to himself as he picked up the pieces of the statue, before moving to close the doors. He was just starting to slide them shut, when something shot through the open doorway and pricked him in the neck. With a yelp, he clapped a hand over the spot where he had been stung and pulled something off his neck. He had just enough time to realise that it was a tranquilizer dart, when his whole world seemed to blur and go completely topsy-turvy. He was out like a light before he had even hit the floor with a considerable thump.

It took a few hours before Baker finally came to. Tentatively opening his eyes, he was astonished to find himself sitting in a comfortable chair in some kind of luxurious hotel room. Standing to his left, was a tall, well-dressed and masked butler, who was holding out a tray upon which was what looked a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, sir," said the butler in a well-spoken tone of voice. "May I take your order for breakfast?"

"What… what the heck is going on here?" stuttered Baker as he tried to get the gears in his brain moving again.

"Ah, I can see you are somewhat confused, sir. That is quite normal around here," said the butler. "What is currently occurring is quite simple. You have been kidnapped and are currently being held for ransom. Now, would you wish to see the menu?"


	2. Starr Of The Family

" _And in other news, Daphne Starr, one of the country's youngest and most dazzling beauty queens, is on her way to Los Angeles, to take part in the annual Malibu fashion show taking place later this month_ ," quoted Clover, as she read out the article in the latest issue of 'Fashion World'. " _Ms Starr is scheduled to be the first up on stage, leading the showcase of the latest designs of world famous fashion designer Jean-Pierre Martini, who has previously contracted Ms Starr for many fashion shoots in the past._ "

Sam and Alex listened intently as Clover read on. The girls had finished their classes for the day at Mali-U and were currently lounging on the comfortable sofas of West Coast Hall. Clover had decided to bring her two friends up to speed on the latest fashion world developments, which in this case had a special significance for the fashion-obsessed superspy.

"Wow, Clover," said Sam at last, "your sister sure has moved up in the world, hasn't she?"

"Totes!" agreed Alex. "Though I don't recall your surname being 'Starr'. What's that all about?"

"Oh, that's just Daphne's stage name," smiled Clover. "She figured the rest of the family wouldn't like to be constantly badgered by the press for interviews."

"Wait, they're pestering your family with furry badgers? That's so mean!" exclaimed Alex. Sam and Clover exchanged weary looks and let out despairing sighs.

"So, when is Daphne arriving, Clover?" asked Sam, trying to get back on topic.

"Her train's coming in later this evening," answered Clover. "She just needed to drop off Trevor at our parent's house first. With her being busy with all the preparations going on for the show, Daph felt that it would be as good a time as any for her son to hang out with his grandparents."

"I still can't believe you actually have a nephew, Clover," said Alex. "I mean Stella doesn't look that old to be a granny."

Clover shrugged. "Well, what can I say? Daph had always wanted a kid of her own, so as soon as she hit the legal age, she made an appointment at the clinic and nine months later, she had her own little bundle of joy! I have to admit, Mum and Dad were more than a little doubtful if Daph was ready for motherhood when she told us her plans, but she managed to talk them round. You guys should have seen the look on Mum's face when we had all gathered at the hospital that day when Trev was born, she was absolutely thrilled!"

"Sounds a kinda difficult life to me," said Sam. "I mean, juggling between being a single mum _and_ a major fashion star. Doesn't your sister find it, you know, a bit demanding?"

"A little," admitted Clover, "though it's probably way more straightforward than the stuff we get up to, what with saving the world and everything."

"Fair point," conceded Sam. "Well, I for one can't wait to meet her."

"Same here," added Alex with a grin. "I can't believe I'm actually going to come face-to-face with **_the_** Daphne Starr! I mean, she's like the absolute queen of fashion! Oh, I am so going to ask for her autograph when she gets here."

"Well, in that case, we better get a move on," said Clover with a smirk as she got to her feet. "Otherwise we'll end up missing her traaaaiiiiiinnnnn!"

Before any of them knew what had happened, a trapdoor had opened right beneath their feet and sent them tumbling down the chute to WOOHP headquarters.

Jerry was busy typing up a report on the computer on his desk when the girls came out the other end of the chute and landed on the sofa in front of him.

"Afternoon superspies," he said cheerily. "I have a rather unusual kidnapping case for you to investigate."

"What's unusual is why you never bother to let us know when you're about to woohp us," grumbled Clover.

"So who's the abductee this time, Jerr?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, is it some braniac scientist or a way snooty princess or a prize-winning bunny rabbit?" added Alex.

"No, today it's the world-famous actor, Jon Baker," answered Jerry. "He was reported missing a few days ago by his manager, Kate Maloney, after she received this ransom letter a few hours after he disappeared."

Jerry picked up a photocopy of the letter from his desk and passed it to Sam, who began to read it out loud to Clover and Alex.

 ** _"Dear Sir/Madam,_**

 ** _We are writing to inform you that our establishment is currently holding your client prisoner at our most exclusive and luxurious holding cells. You may rest assure that he is being well treated and his every desire is being attended to. In fact, he is currently relaxing in our first-class Jacuzzi as this letter is being written._**

 ** _However, if you wish him to be released in time for the filming of his next motion picture, then I am afraid you must pay a fee of five million dollars, to be handed over at the ACME warehouse on 33_ _rd_ _Avenue this Friday at 5pm. There, we will release Mr Baker into your care as soon as we confirm the authenticity of the currency you will be presenting._**

 ** _Please refrain from contacting the authorities about this. If you attempt any variation of our arrangement, Mr Baker will remain in our custody until you meet our demands fairly._**

 ** _A pleasure doing business with you and apologies for any inconvenience this has caused you._**

 ** _Yours sincerely,_**

 ** _Kidnappers Incorporated."_**

The girls shared an incredulous look with each other as they took this all in.

"Wow, these baddies sure sound considerate," remarked Alex.

"Not to mention classy," added Clover. "A Jacuzzi? Seriously?"

"Is this all for real, Jerry?" asked Sam. "Who are Kidnappers Inc.?"

"That's exactly what WOOHP would like to know," replied Jerry. "For the past three months, these criminals have been kidnapping various celebrities and holding them to ransom for exactly $5,000,000 each. What is peculiar is that when the hostages have been returned, they're quite reluctant to press charges, saying that their time in captivity was like being at an up-class hotel, all with good food, perfect living accommodations and even an adjoining spa to their bedrooms. As such, none of this has reached the newspapers and TV headlines."

"This is all so weird," said Alex. "Since when do crooks turning kidnapping into a indefinite and really expensive vacation?"

"Yeah, why don't they just open up a perfectly legal hotel? Why risk getting sent to jail?" wondered Sam.

"And how come none of the celebs are pressing charges? Surely at least one of them would be way annoyed at being held captive?" added Clover.

"That's what you girls will have to find out," said Jerry. "Ms Maloney decided to disregard the letter's instructions and come to WOOHP for help. She will be meeting the kidnappers this evening at the warehouse as arranged, only you three will be there too in hiding. As soon as Mr Baker is released and out of harm's way, you are to get the drop on the culprits and get any evidence that can help find their base of operations."

Jerry opened a drawer on his desk and started distributing the various gadgets the girls would need. "Now for this mission, you will be supplied with Jetpack Backpacks; Heat Sensor 6000 Infrared Motion Detector Sunglasses; the Incendiary Earrings; Headband Illuminators; and the Titanium Drill Heel Boots."

"Okay girls, time to go baddie catching," said Alex eagerly as the three girls began to pick up their various gadgets.

"Whoa, hold on a second guys!" exclaimed Clover, suddenly realising something as she was putting on the Incendiary Earrings. "My sister's train will be coming in at the same time as the ransom pay-off! If I'm not there at the station to meet her, she's going to be so many levels of upset!"

"You go ahead to the station then and meet up with your sister, Clover," said Sam kindly. "Alex and I can keep an eye on things at the warehouse. If the worse happens, we'll call you for back-up."

"Thanks, Sam," said Clover gratefully. "Good luck with the whole surveillance thiiiiiinnnnnngggggg!"

Her words were brusquely cut off as Jerry hit a switch on his desk and Clover was sent tumbling down another WOOHP chute, this time leading to the train station.


	3. The Ransom Exchange

A short time later, Clover was standing on the station platform, keeping an eye out for Daphne. The train had arrived just a few minutes ago, but the wave of passengers coming on and off made it difficult for Clover to spot her sister anywhere.

"Oh come on, Daph, where are you?" muttered Clover, who was beginning to think that Jerry had woohped her to the wrong station.

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes, making her jump a little and a familiar voice cheekily said, "You called, madam?"

Clover spun around to see Daphne standing behind her with a wide grin like a Cheshire cat.

"Sis, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" laughed Clover.

Daphne chuckled and pulled her sister into a big hug. "Hey Clove, long time no see, huh?"

"Way too long, Daph," smiled Clover. "It's been simply ages since I last saw you."

"Oh, tell me about it," said Daphne. "I've been meaning to come down for months, but what with so many photo shoots to attend and making sure Trev stays out of mischief, arranging to get some time off has been a total nightmare!"

Daphne brushed a strand of her long, strawberry blonde hair out of her face. Despite the fact that there was an age difference of five years between the two sisters, with Clover being the youngest, nowadays Daphne and Clover looked virtually identical to each other. The most obvious difference between them was that Daphne had her hair styled differently to her mum and sister's coif looks, preferring to go instead for a more shoulder-length style.

"I was so thrilled when the agency said they could book me for the fashion show down here," Daphne continued. "I've been dying to come down here to see you and meet your roomies. It's kinda weird that I haven't gotten acquainted with them before now."

"Yeah, I'm sorry they couldn't be here to meet you," said Clover. "They, err, got some last-minute extra-credit work that they wanted to get out of the way first."

"Boy, that's tough," said Daphne. "Never mind, I guess this means we can have a bit of quality sister time first, before we meet up with them. After being cooped up in that clammy train for the last three hours, you know what I want to do most now?"

"I think I can guess," grinned Clover, before they both exclaimed:

"Shopping!"

* * *

"Ouch! Alex, watch where you're putting your heels!" groused Sam as she rubbed her aching side.

"Sorry Sam, I was just trying to shift around to get a bit more legroom," said Alex apologetically as she moved about a bit in the small wooden crate that the two spies had concealed themselves in.

Through a slot opening in the side of the crate, the two spies had a good view of the interior of the ACME warehouse, which was crammed full of other crates and boxes. In the centre of the room stood Kate Maloney, who was currently holding a briefcase that contained the ransom money for the release of Jon Baker. Maloney looked at her watch as a bead of sweat appeared on her nervous brow. She had been fully briefed on the plan, which was to carry out the exchange as arranged, whereupon the spies would leap out and nab the bad guys before they had a chance to escape. Nevertheless, she was worried about what would happen to her client should the plan fail to work.

"Maybe it's just as well Clover couldn't make it," grumbled Alex. "The three of us would never be able to fit in this small crate!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, Alex!" whispered Sam urgently. "The kidnappers are arriving."

Through the peephole, Sam could see the metal warehouse door slide open, whereupon an aristocratic-looking black Rolls Royce drove in and pulled over near to Ms Maloney. The drivers' door opened and a well-dressed man wearing a black suit and bowler hat stepped out, the top half of his face hidden by a black eye mask to conceal his identity.

"Good evening, Ms Maloney," said the man as he doffed his hat to her. "I do hope you will forgive these over the top theatrics, but one can never be too careful, you know. I trust you have the money all prepared for the completion of the transaction?"

"Of course," said Maloney frostily, as she opened the briefcase and held it up for the man to see. The disguised man came over and spent a few minutes examining the money inside, making sure that it was all quite genuine inside.

"Splendid," said the man, satisfied that there was no counterfeit money included in the ransom. "I'm glad you've decided to uphold your end of the bargain, just as we will."

As he took the case from Ms Maloney, another masked man, similarly dressed in a suit and bowler hat, got out of the car along with a blindfolded Jon Baker, who did not look any the worse for his ordeal.

"Hey, is this it then?" asked Baker. "I'm free now?"

"Indeed you are sir," said the second masked man, as he removed Baker's blindfold. "Now if you and the young lady would care to leave as quickly as possible, it's just that we do have other clients to attend to."

Surprisingly, Baker seemed disappointed by being released. "Oh, okay guys. Thanks for the caviar and everything."

"Our pleasure, sir. Good luck with the filming for your new film," said the first man as Maloney grabbed Baker's hand and bundled him out as quickly as possible through the front door and to the limo that was waiting to take him back to his mansion.

"My word, Perkins, Lord Ransom will be quite pleased with this payment," said the first man. "No fuss, no shenanigans."

"Indeed Jarvis," said the second man with a hint of pride in his voice. "Though I was certain that Ms Maloney would try to lay a trap for us."

"And you were right!" called out a voice from behind them. The two men whirled around in time to see Sam and Alex leap out of the crate they were hiding in and move into a fighting stance.

"Okay fellas, your celeb snatching days are officially over!" said Sam defiantly.

"By Jove, you were correct, Perkins! Most fortunate we took all those self-defence classes during our lunch breaks!" exclaimed Jarvis as he and Perkins moved into a combat stance of their own. The two men charged at the girls, delivering various kicks and punches that the girls easily avoided.

"Hey, didn't anyone teach you it's not nice to hit a lady!" cried Alex as she deflected a blow by Perkins with her arm.

"Terribly sorry Miss, but all's fair in love and war!" said Perkins, as he suddenly swung his foot out and tripped Alex over onto the floor. Perkins then leapt up into the air to deliver a knee drop attack, but Alex quickly rolled out of the way and Perkins' knees instead impacted with hard concrete ground instead!

"Yeow! Most painful!" cried Perkins as he rubbed his bruised kneecaps. Before he even had a chance to recover, Alex grabbed him and threw him into a pile of crates, leaving him utterly dazed!

Jarvis, meanwhile, had pinned Sam against the warehouse wall, but she quickly managed to duck under his feet, grab his leg and toss him right on top of Perkins, tearing off a piece of his jacket in the process.

"Nice try, mister! But you should have just surrendered while you had the chance!" said Sam.

"I say, this is a bit of a predicament!" exclaimed Jarvis as he fiddled with his cuffs. "Just as well I have these gas bomb cufflinks with me!"

Before the spies could stop him, Jarvis pulled off his cufflinks and threw them at the girls' feet. There was a loud bang and smoke suddenly billowed out, engulfing the whole room!

"Hey, no fair!" complained Alex.

"Alex, quick! Grab them before they make a break for it!" yelled Sam.

The two spies leapt forward and landed on top of the broken pile of crates that the two kidnappers had crashed into. But the smoke was now really thick and near impossible to see through.

"Ah, got you!" cried Alex as she spotted a figure through the smoke, before tackling them to the ground!

"Ow! Alex, stop! It's me you're attacking!" snapped Sam irately.

"Oops! Sorry, Sammy," said Alex sheepishly. As the girls got hastily to their feet, they heard the sound of the Rolls Royce engine starting up. A pair of bright headlights abruptly lit up through the thick smoke and suddenly started to veer right towards them!

"Alex, look out!" yelled Sam as she flung herself at her friend and knocked her out of the path of the car that almost ran them both down! As they tried to gather their wits, they could hear the car speeding through the still-open garage door and away down the streets.

"Oh man, what a bust! While we were tackling each other, they made off with the ransom money," moaned Alex as she and Sam got to their feet and tried to find their way through the slowly clearing smoke to the exit.

"Yeah, I can't believe we let them get the drop on us like that," groused Sam in agreement, before spotting the torn-off piece of jacket that had fallen to the floor during the fight.

"Still, we did manage to get this expensive-looking piece of fabric and we also heard what their names were," she continued, trying to focus on the positive side of things. "Maybe Jerry can help track them down for us."

She opened her compowder and Jerry's face appeared on the holographic display before her.

"Ah, how's the mission going, girls?" he asked.

"Not so well, Jerr," admitted Alex awkwardly. "Jon Baker was released okay, but the kidnappers used some smoke bombs to make a quick getaway when we tried to catch them."

"We did manage to get their names though, Jerry," added Sam, "and we also got a piece of the jacket that one of them was wearing. Could you get the fabric analysed and then cross-reference with the names Jarvis and Perkins?"

"Well, it's not much to go on girls," said Jerry, "but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you two better get back to campus."

"Thanks, Jerry," said Sam before she closed the compowder. "Okay Alex, time to head home and meet up with Clover and her sister."

* * *

"Good gracious, that sounded quite a close call," remarked Lord Ransom's voice over the car radio as Jarvis finished briefing his employer about what had happened. "Still, you two did manage to get the better of those two law enforcement agents and secure our payment. Well done! I'm proud of you both."

"Thank you, your lordship," replied Jarvis in his customary well-spoken voice, keeping his eyes firmly on the road as he continued driving. "Do you require us to return to the manor now?"

"Not just yet, Jarvis," came Ransom's voice over the speaker. "There's a potential new client that's just arrived in Malibu. I want you to pick her up first before heading back. She is none other than the famous fashion model Daphne Starr."


	4. The Kidnapping Of Clover

"No way!" exclaimed Clover, sitting up intently on the comfy cushioned seat inside the local dress boutique at the Groove. "You're now dating Jed Slavin, that hunkalicious Formula 1 driver from Texas?!"

"I know, rad right?" came Daphne's somewhat dreamy-sounding voice from behind the changing curtain as she tried on the beautiful red dress that she had spotted in the shop window. "I mean, he's so good-looking and surprisingly gentle with kids. He'd make an awesome dad for Trevor. That kid could do with a fun-loving and cool parent who he could just hang out with."

"Sound's great," replied Clover, "Though you're pretty fun-loving and cool yourself, Daph, and you've done a sweet job raising Trev on your own. He's in no way unpleasant and annoying compared to how Normy used to be."

"Yeah, well I wasn't going to make the same mistakes that Mum and Aunt Raquel made with cousin Norman and let my kid grow up all mean and spoilt rotten!" remarked Daphne. "I gotta admit, I'm really pleased with how Trevor's turned out. He's always trying to act friendly at school and be as helpful as possible to his classmates and teachers. I have to confess, it has been difficult at times being a good parent to Trevor on top of being a fashion model. I'm actually a bit envious of you in that regard, Clove. Your life must be way easier to handle than mine can be. "

 _"Oh Daph, if only you knew how wrong you are,"_ thought Clover with a meaningful smile.

Daphne suddenly pulled back the curtain and showed off the stunning red silk Midi dress she was now wearing to Clover. "So, whatcha think?"

Clover smiled. "About your new boyfriend, how you've raised Trevor or that way cool dress? Cause the answer I'd give to all three questions is totally awesome!"

Daphne squealed in delight and quickly went to the counter to pay for the fab dress.

"Oh pardon me, Ms Starr, but can I please have your autograph?" asked the shop assistant behind the counter as Daphne completed her purchase. "It's for my little girl back home. She's a simply huge fan of yours."

"Sure thing," sighed Daphne with a weary smile. She pulled out an autograph book from her purse, signed her name and handed the sheet of paper to the delighted shop assistant. She was used to being asked for autographs as it happened to her at least ten times a week, which was why she had a notebook and pen ready on her person.

"Talking of families, Clove," Daphne continued as she put the receipt in her bag, "have you noticed anything weird going on with Mum lately?"

Clover raised an eyebrow as they exited the shop and walked down the now near-empty mall. "Weird? In what way?"

"Well ever since that time when she went to visit you at your old beach house, I can't help but notice that she's been hanging out quite a lot with your friends' mums. I didn't think much of it at the time, but from what I've heard since, they've apparently taken up rock climbing and martial arts classes in their spare time. Can you believe that! Mum used to be way over-protective and over-cautious, but during the last couple of years, it's like she's had a near-complete personality transplant! I tried asking Dad about it, but he keeps dodging the topic, saying that she's just trying out some new hobbies."

"Well, err, maybe she's having a mid-life crisis," suggested Clover a little too quickly.

Daphne was far from convinced. "Oh come on, sis! This is Mum we're talking about! You know how set against that sort of stuff she used to be! 'Not the kind of thing a proper lady does' she used to say. Now, she's doing sky-diving of all things!"

Daphne cast a suspicious look at her sister. "Clover, this wouldn't have anything to do with you once grounding her, would it?"

Taken somewhat aback, Clover tried to her best to act ignorant. "Me? Ground Mum? Where did you get that idea from?"

"Well, when I dropped off Trevor on the way here, I mentioned to Mum how little I've had to discipline him and as we got talking, she kinda let slip that you on one occasion had her and your friends' own mothers grounded for a whole week! I tried to ask her what she was going on about, but she abruptly clammed up and changed the topic. But from what I can work out, it was round the time of this grounding that she suddenly changed her general attitude to things. Is there something going on that I oughta know about?"

 _"Uh oh, looks like Daph is finally catching onto Mum's new spy career,"_ Clover thought anxiously to herself. Daphne had always been a pretty sharp observer and it had always been a matter of time before she cottoned on to what first her sister and now their mother had been getting up to with their respective friends. Clover had actually been wondering for a while now if she should tell her older sibling all about her spy career, because it did not seem fair that Daphne of all people had to be kept out of the loop. On the other hand though, if more family members were let in on the secret, it could seriously jeopardise the spies' cover and the lives of their loved ones.

"Well sis, it's kinda like this…" Clover began to explain nervously, but before she could think of anything else to say, a masked man suddenly leapt out from behind the corner ahead of them and fired a net gun at them! Within the space of two seconds, the two girls were trapped in a web of strong cord!

"Hey, what's your game?" snapped Daphne at the man as she and Clover struggled to free themselves from the tight net. As they did so, another masked man stepped out of the shadows behind them and clamped chloroform-soaked rags over each of the girls' mouths. Within seconds, the two sisters were both out like a light.

"I say, Perkins," said Jarvis as he lowered the net gun he was holding, "can you tell which of these ladies is the target? Aside from the hair, they both look quite similar to me."

"We had best bring them both along, just to make sure," said Perkins as he and Jarvis picked up the two unconscious girls between them and started to make their way back to the Rolls Royce.

* * *

A short distance away, Sam and Alex were making their way through the Groove to meet Clover and her sister. The two spies were still feeling a bit depressed over those two hoodlums getting the better of them back in the warehouse.

"I mean, come on!" complained Alex. "Those guys were like as old as Jerry and nowhere near as experienced in hand-to-hand combat! We should have been able to take care of them no problemo!"

Sam nodded glumly before she screeched to a sudden halt and her jaw dropped wide open in shock. "Alex, look! It's the kidnappers again!"

"What? Where?" asked Alex, frantically turning her head one way to the other as she tried to spot the felons.

"By the water fountain," said Sam, pointing frantically with her finger. Alex's eyes widened as she followed the direction of the finger and she finally saw what Sam had seen. Sure enough, there were the same two masked men they had clashed with earlier, bundling two unconscious and netted girls into the Rolls Royce, one of whom the spies recognised immediately.

"Oh no, they've got Clover!" cried Alex as she and Sam broke into a sprint towards the Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, the two men spotted them and had already dashed into the car before speeding frantically past them and through the archway of the Groove entrance.

"Quick, Alex, activate your Jetpack Backpack!" yelled Sam as she activated her own jetpack and took off. Seconds later, the two girls were shooting through the air in pursuit of the Rolls Royce, which was desperately swerving this way and that on the twisty road in order to try and lose the flying spies.

"It's no good, Sam!" cried out Alex as they tried to keep up with the speeding vehicle. "Every time I try to get in close, the car swerves away from me!"

"We've got to keep trying, Alex," said Sam determinedly. "Let's try increasing the thrust of our jetpacks, before they have a chance to veer away again."

Sam reached behind and hit the boost switch on her jetpack and Alex did likewise with her own. There was a sudden burst of power from the jetpacks and with an cry of exhilaration, the girls immediately shot forward till they were within grasping reach of the Rolls Royce.

"Got it!" cried Alex triumphantly as she and Sam both grabbed hold of the car's rear bumper. "Now what do we do?"

"Simple. We break in, overpower the baddies and get Clover out of this way swish automobile," said Sam as she struggled to keep hold of the fast-moving car.

But before Sam could outline her plan of attack to Alex, a cloud of gas suddenly erupted from the Rolls' tailpipe right into their faces. A wave of dizziness suddenly came over the two spies and they both lost their grip on the car bumper. With their jetpacks still operating, they flew out of control and crashed right into a nearby ice cream van, while the Rolls Royce speeded away into the distance.

"Oh no, we've lost them again," groaned Sam as she dazedly got to her feet and pulled an ice cream cone out of her hair.

"Well, at least the ice cream is good," said Alex as she ran her finger through some ice cream that had spilt over her uniform and gave it a lick. "Mmm, strawberry! Yum!"

"Alex, focus!" snapped Sam. "We've got to figure out how to find the kidnappers and rescue Clover!"

"Sorry, Sam," said Alex sheepishly. "I just wish I knew why those two would want to kidnap poor Clover."

"I don't think Clover was their target," said Sam, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Remember that other girl they had in the net with her? It must have been Clover's sister! They probably targeted her so they can get a big ransom from her manager."

"We better call Jerry right away," said Alex as she took out her compowder and opened it. Once again, Jerry's face appeared on the holographic screen, with a look of surprise at being called again so soon.

"Ah, hello girls. Any fresh developments?"

"Yeah, and not for the better," said Alex grimly. "Those two goons from 'Kidnappers Inc.' that we confronted earlier have just kidnapped Clover and her sister!"

"Oh dear," exclaimed Jerry. "In that case, it's a good thing that the lab boys have managed to finish analysing that fabric sample you found. It's a rather expensive material commonly used to make the kind of jackets used by butlers."

"So those two guys were butlers? Guess that explains why they were so overly formal and polite back at the warehouse," remarked Sam as she brushed some ice cream off her own uniform.

"That's not all," continued Jerry. "We've crossed referenced the names of 'Jarvis' and 'Perkins' and have found that two butlers by those names are currently in the employ of one Lord Alfred Ransom."

'Lord Ransom?" echoed Alex. "Hey, that's the guy the kidnappers said would be pleased with how the ransom exchange went!"

"Yes, and he is also the last surviving member of an alleged family of notorious criminals," Jerry went on grimly. "Over the years, the Ransom family have been involved in a number of major crimes such as robbery, fraud and embezzlement. To them, crime is a form of art and an addictive swashbuckling adventure. Eventually, the authorities were able to gather enough evidence to arrest all bar Alfred Ransom, who was still at University at the time."

"Guess he's decided to carry on the family business then," said Sam. "Can you look up his current address, Jerr?"

"All ready done. He is currently residing at Ransom Manor, just ten miles outside Los Angeles. I'm sending the co-ordinates to your compowders now."

"Thanks Jerry," said Alex. "We'll get going straight away."

Once they finished dusting themselves off, Alex and Sam immediately reactivated their jetpacks and took off through the night sky, on their way to rescue Clover and her sister.


	5. Classy Prison

When consciousness first returned to Clover, her first impression was that she was back in her bed at the penthouse. But as she groggily rubbed her eyes, the memory of what happened swiftly returned and she shot up in the bed with a start.

She was surprised to find herself sitting up in a rather comfy bed inside what appeared to be a really swanky hotel suite bedroom, complete with stylish lamp stands, expensive-looking cupboards and drawers, and a large HD Television on the wall. As Clover looked around she noticed that there were no windows of any kind, but there was a door in one corner of the bedroom.

Jumping out of the bed, she dashed over to the door and grabbed the brass handle, though she fully expected it to find it locked. However, to her surprise, the handle moved with ease and the door easily swung open to reveal a rather posh-looking living room, just as tidy and friendly looking as the bedroom she had just woken up in.

"Like, what the heck is going on around here?" Clover wondered aloud as she looked around the cosy and well-ordered area. She jumped slightly when she heard another bedroom door open and she turned to see a somewhat woozy Daphne step into the living room, still clad in the dress she had just bought at the Groove.

"Oh, where are we?" she groaned. "Last thing I remember was this weird guy at the mall, snagging us in a oversized fishing net."

Clover dashed across to her unsteady sister and helped her sit down on the sofa that dominated part of the room. Clover's years of experience as a WOOHP agent had made her used to being knocked out and then waking up abruptly, but Daphne had no such experience, so it was a bit harder for her to get her thoughts together.

"How are you feeling Daph?" asked Clover, concerned for her sister's wellbeing.

"A little sleepy, but otherwise okay," replied Daphne as she pulled herself together. "But where are we?"

"I don't know," said Clover, "but I think it's a fair bet to assume that we're no longer in the Groove and wherever we are, it's way classy!"

Suddenly, the living room TV switched on by itself and an image of one of the masked kidnappers appeared on the screen.

" _Good evening, Ms Starr_ ," said Jarvis over the speaker systems. " _We trust you and your companion are feeling refreshed after your, err, evening nap._ "

"NAP?!" yelled Daphne at the screen. "Dude, you totally drugged and kidnapped us! That is like so not cool!"

"Um, I don't think he can actually hear you, Daph," said Clover as the masked man continued speaking.

" _Now, we feel you ladies are perfectly entitled to an explanation, so here it is. You have been selected by 'Kidnappers Incorporated' to be the latest guests in our luxury holding chambers, where you will remain until a suitable payment has been arranged for your release. Until then, please feel free to make full use of our first class accommodations, which includes an 'all you can eat buffet' and a magnificent spa chamber, which includes a swimming pool, a sauna and a Jacuzzi._ "

Daphne could not believe her ears. "Seriously? This guy expects us to lounge about while we're being held to ransom? How shallow and gullible does he think we are?"

The man on the screen continued with his well-spoken speech.

" _In case you are afraid that members of our staff will intrude on your solitude, let me assure you that Kidnappers Inc. respects the privacy of our guests, and so no cameras and listening devices have been installed in your accommodations. They are unnecessary, as a reinforced vault door covers the only way in and out of these chambers. To break out would require a powerful explosive, which you ladies do not possess, so escape is impossible. We have also confiscated your mobile devices so you may not be inclined to be unwise and try to call the authorities for assistance. You may rest assured that no harm will come to either of you, so please just sit back, relax and enjoy your stay here at Kidnappers Incorporated. Thank you very much._ "

With that, the TV screen abruptly switched off and the two sisters exchanged equally astonished looks with each other.

"Oh, this is just great," muttered Daphne. "Are we really going to just sit around here while we wait for someone to bail us out?"

"As if! Come on, let's have a look around and see if we can find this vault door of theirs," said Clover who was already crossing over to one of the nearest doors to see what was on the other side. She was still trying to get her head around the irony of being kidnapped by the very same criminal organisation that she was supposed to be helping Sam and Alex investigate. Talk about a major coincidence!

"Wow, they weren't kidding about the catering," remarked Clover as she found herself in a reasonably sized dining room, which was mostly dominated by a large table that had plates of various delicious food and glasses of refreshing drinks placed on top.

"Nor the spa! Gosh, it's humungous!" exclaimed Daphne, who had tried another door and found herself looking into a enormous chamber consisting of a large swimming pool, a bubbling Jacuzzi and a sauna room.

"I'm beginning to see why the other celebs weren't that bothered," commented Clover. "This place is amazing!"

"Yeah, it sure… Wait a sec! What do you mean by 'other celebs'?" asked Daphne, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, err, I heard about it on the telly," explained Clover hastily. "According to the news, this has happened to some other celebrities."

"Really? I don't remember reading about this in any of the headlines," remarked Daphne. "Anyway, we can't let ourselves be seduced by all this sweet pampering. We're still hostages here, I have a photo shoot to attend tomorrow before the fashion show **_and_** I've got a son to get back to! Now let's find this exit and get out of here!"

* * *

It had taken Sam and Alex the best part of two hours to reach Ransom Manor as Alex's jetpack had developed a fault from the ice cream crash and they had to land midway to make repairs. However, once the repairs were done, they made up for lost time and zoomed over the towering buildings of Los Angeles, before finally landing at the driveway double gates that led to the estate of Lord Alfred Ransom.

"Now that's one amazing house," observed Alex as she peered through the gates and surveyed the large mansion with awe. "These baddies sure go in for style."

"Not to mention tough security," added Sam as she surveyed the area with the Infrared Motion Detector Sunglasses. "The whole estate is filled with some really nasty booby-traps. One wrong step and you'd suddenly find yourself getting zapped by an electrified bear trap!"

"Oh, that's so utterly cruel!" grumbled Alex. "What did cute and adorable teddy bears ever do to annoy these guys?"

"There are also a lot of security cameras about the place," continued Sam. "If we tried to fly over the field to the manor, they'd easily spot us and be ready to pounce before we've even landed."

"So how are we going to get in without being seen?" asked Alex.

"Easy, we just tunnel our way in!" answered Sam as she activated her Titanium Drill Heel Boots and began to start digging into the ground.

* * *

"Hey, this looks more like it," said Daphne as she opened another door in the luxurious prison that she and Clover were currently occupying. This time, instead of another elegant room in which guests could indulge themselves, Daphne found herself facing a solid steel door, which was covered by the other wooden door so that it would not look out of place with the rest of the room.

Daphne pressed her palms against the door and tried to give it a push. Clover came over to give a hand, but no matter how hard the two sisters pushed, the door would not budge.

"Oh, it's no good," sighed Daphne despondently. "We'll never get this thing to open without help. We don't even have a crowbar for leverage."

"There's got to be some way of breaking through!" said Clover with a note of determination in her voice. She looked closely at the vault door. It was sturdy, but as the kidnapper on the TV said, a well placed explosive could blast it free no problem.

 _"Say, the Incendiary Earrings could do the trick!"_ thought Clover as she suddenly remembered the WOOHP gadgets that she was currently wearing. _"But how am I going to explain to Daph why I'm wearing miniature bombs on me?"_

But as Clover tried to think up a plausible excuse, her musings were abruptly interrupted by the muffled sound of her compowder ringing from inside a nearby drawer in the main living room.

"Say, what's with that ringtone?" asked Daphne, already crossing to the drawers. "I thought that guy said he had taken both our phones away."

"Oh, maybe it's room service calling!" suggested Clover quickly. She started to dash across, but Daphne had got to the chest of drawers first and was already opening the top one, which contained the personal belongings of both of the girls, including Daphne's purse… and Clover's compowder.

"Say, what's this thing?" queried Daphne as she picked up the compowder and looked it over. "Since when are compacts so high-tech?"

She opened up the compowder and was immediately startled when a hologram of Jerry appeared before her.

"Clover, thank heavens I reached you. I…" Jerry suddenly stopped as he realised that the girl he was talking to was most definitely not Clover. "Oh, I do beg your pardon, young lady. I, err, must have the wrong number."

Clover quickly took the compowder from her sister and addressed Jerry. "No Jerry, I'm here. But your timing is way bad!"

"Clover, what the blazes is going on? Who is that old bald guy?" exclaimed Daphne in wide-eyed amazement.

"That's _balding_ ," muttered Jerry. "Clover, we've managed to get a fix on your location and are doing all we can to rescue you. Sam and Alex are tunnelling their way to you as we speak."

"Thanks Jerry. We're pretty well locked up at the moment, but I'm going to try and use the Incendiary Earrings to break out. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to explain a few things to my sister."

Clover closed the compowder and turned to face her sister, who had her arms crossed and a glowering look on her face.

"Okay Clover, spill the beans! Just what exactly is going on here?" demanded Daphne a little icily.

Clover gulped and shuffled her feet uneasily. "Well sis, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…"


	6. The Escape

While Clover was busy admitting some truths to her sister in the prison suite, Sam and Alex were at that moment busy tunnelling their way underneath the Ransom estate, hopefully in the direction towards the cellar of the manor house where the security would not be so tight. It was fortunate that WOOHP had been able to find the old schematics and building plans for the place as it made navigation a whole lot easier.

"Ew, gross!" complained Alex as she pulled another worm out of her hair. "Sammy, please tell me that we're almost there. All this dirt is leaving grotty stains on my uni!"

"Just starting to tunnel up now, Alex," said Sam as she carefully moved the drill protruding from her boot to start forming an upward curve in the tunnel.

It took a few more tantalising minutes of drilling and climbing, but at last they managed to break through the floorboards into a darkened and somewhat musty-smelling room. Activating their Headband Illuminators, the girls found they had arrived bang on target, right in the middle of the wine cellar.

"Boy, it sure is dingy in here," remarked Sam as she ran her hand through some of the thick cobwebs. "Why are cellars always so dark and mucky?"

As they looked around a bit more, Alex noticed a short flight of steps leading upwards to a wooden door. "Hey, look over there. I guess that's the way into the main house. I sure hope we'll find Clover up there."

* * *

"So, let me get this absolutely straight," said Daphne slowly, struggling to take in what Clover had just admitted to her. "You and your best friends are secret crime-fighting agents, like in 'James Bond' and 'Charlie's Angels'? Far out! Just how long has this been going on?"

"Well, since Alex, Sam and I first met and started at Bev High actually," confessed Clover as she worked to get the Incendiary Earrings in place about the vault door while avoiding her sister's fiery glare.

"Is this all for real?! Clove, how can you keep something as huge and important as this from me? Don't you trust your own sister?" retorted Daphne, still not believing that this was all really happening.

"Of course, I do!" answered Clover defensively. "It's just… I didn't want you to worry or be put in any danger as a result."

"Well, I can't deny that my feelings aren't like majorly hurt," huffed Daphne crossly. "You're just lucky that Mum hasn't heard anything about this. She'd give you a right earful about what you've been getting up to."

"Um, well actually, heh, now you mention it…" began Clover awkwardly.

Clover's sister looked like she was on the verge of exploding. "WHAT!? Mum knew?! All this time she knew and didn't bother to tell me?!"

"Well, not the entire time," said Clover hurriedly. "Just the… last couple of years."

Daphne was really fuming now. "Do you mean to tell me that after all the long, gruelling lectures she used to give me about honesty and responsibility, she's now taken to keeping secrets from her own kids?! The old hypocrite! I cannot believe her nerve! Just wait till I get my hands on her! Oh, she is gonna be so busted when I get out of here!"

"Look Daph, I know you're totally steamed up and all, but could we possibly save this conversation for another time, like when we're _not_ being held captive by super-crazed criminals?" suggested Clover delicately as she finished getting the Incendiary Earrings in position.

"Fine," conceded Daphne grudgingly, "but as soon as we're out of here, you and I need to have a real long talk about all this."

With a weary sigh, Clover set the detonation timer on the earrings, before dragging a still infuriated Daphne behind the sofa for cover. A few seconds later, there was a terrific explosion and the tough, resilient vault door fell off its hinges and crashed to the floor with a loud metallic thud that echoed around the place.

"Wow, now that's what I call an explosive fashion accessory," breathed Daphne as she and Clover made their way through the smoke-filled doorway. As they stepped out of the room, they found themselves in a rather elegant corridor, like the sort one would expect to see in an English palace, complete with large family portraits and old medieval suits of armour on display. Carefully and quietly, the two sisters began to move along the hallway, keeping their eyes peeled for any potential exits to the building.

"Oh, I don't know about you, but this place gives me the creeps," whispered Daphne as she looked uneasily at the portrait of a rather mean-looking man with a bald head and a well-trimmed black goatee. He was dressed in an all-black Elizabethan outfit and held a really sharp sword, which was stained with something that Daphne was pretty sure was not ketchup. According to the plaque on the portrait, the man's name was 'Duke Thomas Ransom' and he did not seem a pleasant guy to know at all.

"I sure hope the current occupant of this house isn't anything like that guy," Daphne nervously muttered under her breath.

"Shh!" whispered Clover urgently before pointing to a turning in the corridor just ahead. She could hear heavy, fast-moving footsteps around the corner heading their way.

"Gotta be the kidnappers," realised Clover. "We need to hide, and fast!"

A few seconds later, Jarvis and Perkins came around the corner and moved urgently towards the prison suite, having been alerted to the jailbreak by the loud explosion that had rocked the entire house a minute ago. As they went hastily on, Jarvis suddenly noticed that something was amiss in the corridor.

"Perkins, I don't recall seeing these two suits of armour in this part of the manor before." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he regarded the two slightly short medieval knights that stood on display before him with perplexity.

"Must be a new delivery for his Lordship's collection," suggested Perkins. "They probably arrived while we were out earlier."

"Yes, that must be it. Well, come on Perkins, chop-chop!" We can't let the fashion celebrity and her little sister escape now, can we?"

The two butlers resumed their frantic dash to the suite, but no sooner had they gone, one of the knights turned its head to make sure they were gone, before moving its arm to raise its helmet's visor.

"It's okay, Daph. They're gone for the moment," breathed Clover in relief.

Daphne put up her own metal visor and looked down the corridor in disbelief. "I can't believe we actually got away with that! How in the world did you manage to conjure up these metal suits in the first place?"

"Instant outfit function," explained Clover as she held out the compowder for her sister to see. "It can instantaneously transform the clothes you're wearing to any disguise you care to choose."

"That is like so awesome!" exclaimed Daphne. "I could do with something like that for the fashion show. It would like save so much time getting changed behind stage!"

"Sorry Daph, but Jerry would blow his top if any of his spy gadgets were used for personal use like that," answered Clover before adding with a smirk, "though he wouldn't necessarily have to find out, you know."

They began to resume their search for the exit to the madhouse they were in, keeping the armoured suits on in case they needed to blend in again. Daphne looked back behind them, hoping that the two butlers would not head back their way when they realised that the girls had indeed escaped.


	7. Lord Ransom

Unbeknown to Clover and Daphne, they were about to get some company. Sam and Alex had just finished picking the cellar lock and were about to emerge into the manor hallway, when Sam urgently pulled Alex back into cover behind the cellar door.

"What is it, Sammy?" asked Alex.

"I just saw two guys in medieval suits of armour coming down the main stairway," explained Sam in a whisper as Alex carefully peeped through the door to see for herself what was happening.

"Hey, you don't think it's the kidnappers do you? Why would they go around dressed up all weird like that?" wondered Alex.

"I don't know, but if it is them, we are not going to let them get the better of us a third time," said Sam resolutely. "When I say 'go', we'll leap out and tackle them to the ground."

"Right behind you, Sam", nodded Alex who was just as keen to take down those two criminal butlers.

"Three… Two… One… GO!"

Sam yanked the cellar door open and the two spies leapt out, delivering a karate kick to each of the two unsuspecting knights who were knocked right onto the hard marble floor.

"Okay, you two clowns. Now what have you done with our friend?" demanded Alex fiercely.

"Oh, you mean the friend who you just attacked without warning? Rude much, don't you think?" grumbled one of the knights who raised her visor to reveal the infuriated expression on her face.

"Oopsie! Sorry, Clover," apologised Sam as she and an equally embarrassed Alex helped the two knights back to their feet.

"No big," sighed Clover before she smiled and pulled her friends into a big hug. "I'm just glad you guys are here."

"Ahem, so are you going to introduce us all now sis, before they wallop us again?" muttered the other knight who lifted her own visor.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Sam and Alex, this is my sister Daphne. Daphne, these are my best friends, Sam and Alex."

Alex immediately dashed excitedly over to greet Clover's sister. "Hi there, great to finally meet you! I just love the stuff you've done for 'Fashion World'! I don't suppose I could get your autograph could I?"

"Alex! This is hardly the time and place!" chided Sam irritably.

"No, it's okay. Believe me, I'm used to it," assured Daphne with a smile. "Love your outfits by the way. Spy-chic is like so in! You guys have got to get me in touch with your designer."

"Well as it happens, she's standing right beside you now," grinned Sam.

Daphne looked at her sister in surprise. "Clove? You designed these way cool catsuits?"

Clover tried her best to look modest. "Oh, just something I quickly came up with when we first joined WOOHP. I mean, there was no way we were going to go around wearing way drab business suits all the time!"

"Ugh, that does sound really wishy-washy and dull!" agreed Daphne.

"Hang on, wait a second there. Clover, does this mean your sister now knows about the… you know, spy-thing?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, Jerry kinda gave the whole thing away," explained Clover sheepishly.

"Well, we'll worry about all that later," said Sam assertively. "Right now, we need to get your sister out of here and then nab the bad guys."

Suddenly, the door to the main study swung open and the girls found themselves facing a bald-headed man dressed in an expensive Victorian-style suit with a monocle in his left eye, an elegant goatee on his face and a glass of sherry in his right hand. The man regarded the girls with an expression of mock amusement.

"Spiriting away my guests are you, ladies? How discourteous of you! Especially after all the trouble I went to bring them here."

"Lord Ransom, I presume?" said Sam as she and Alex moved into a defence stance. Clover tried to move into a fighting position too, but the heavy armour she was still wearing made it significantly less graceful than her friends.

"The one and only, at your service, my dear," said Ransom with a small, courteous bow.

"Hey, you're the guy from that portrait upstairs!" gawped Daphne. "But it can't be! That would make you almost 500 years old!"

"Ah, you're confusing me with my ancestor," said Ransom with an air of reminiscence. "What a fine man he was. A true criminal mastermind. You know it was he who first established the family business with his brilliant smuggling operations. For the next 400 years or so afterwards, the foundations he had laid enabled the family to gradually build up in wealth and power, and the business he created became a proud worldwide multi-national."

"You mean until the authorities busted you," grinned Alex.

"Alas, yes," sighed Ransom sadly. "The entire family was sent to prison with the exception of my good self. I have thus become determined to restore the business to the best of my abilities and make my family prominent once again. I therefore established 'Kidnappers Incorporated' as a means to rebuild the family fortune by ransoming the wealthiest and most schedule-demanding celebrities for a set price. However, I have no desire to be seen as a fairly common type of criminal, so I decided that all my prisoners would be treated with the upmost courtesy and their every wish would be fulfilled during their stay here."

"Except for their wish to get out of this stuffy place," pointed out Clover. "Why couldn't you set up a straightforward hotel business instead?"

Ransom gave an expression of mock shock. "Are you mad, girl? Do you have any idea of the kinds of bills and taxes I would have to pay to maintain such an establishment? In this current economic climate, I would be earning nowhere near as much money as I do now!"

"You haven't earned anything except a long stay in prison, mister! You pilfered all your gains from the innocent celebs you held prisoner!" retorted Sam.

"Yeah, and you're not even a real corporation! You're just three common criminals lounging about in an old dingy house," said Alex.

"I don't know why no one has kicked up a fuss about all this before," added Daphne as she pointed a stern finger at Ransom, "but you will be hearing from my lawyer about all this! No guy gets away with trying to keep me away from my kid back home."

"Dear me, you are a bit stressed aren't you," remarked Ransom. "Still, it's nothing a few rounds with the memory-erasing machine won't resolve. We have had to use it for a few of our more dissatisfied customers, after which they became much more cooperative. Then when they are returned home, the only memories that come to their minds are of the most luxurious hotel rooms they have ever been in!"

"Forget it, buddy! There's no way I'm going to let you mess around with my sister's head with those dirty hands of yours," snapped Clover fiercely as she, Alex and Sam moved to block Ransom's path to Daphne.

"Young lady, I assure you that I wash my hands quite regularly and vigorously!" countered Ransom somewhat intensely. "In any case, you have no say in the matter."

He suddenly pressed down with his foot on a hidden switch in the floorboards. Before any of the girls realised what was happening, a trapdoor suddenly swung open beneath the three spies and they tumbled down with a yell of alarm.

"Clover!" shrieked Daphne as she dashed over to the edge of the trapdoor and peered down. To her relief, she could see her sister and the other two spies gingerly getting back on their feet at the bottom of a twenty-foot drop.

"Are you guys okay down there?" called down Daphne.

"Yeah. Lucky that we landed on this way soft mattress at the bottom," answered Alex. But her relief was short-lived as she and the others suddenly found themselves slowly sinking into the so-called 'mattress'!

"Oh no! It's quicksand!" realised Sam as she and the others struggled to free their feet from the spongy-like surface that was gradually swallowing them up.

Ransom looked down the shaft with a smug expression on his face. "Yes, I had this little trap constructed on the off chance that I might have some unannounced visitors like you barging in. I say you have just fifteen minutes before you are completely submerged and out of my hair."

Alex looked puzzled. "But you don't have any hair on your head for us to get out of!"

Daphne glowered at Ransom. "You creep! You get my sister and her friends out of there right now!"

But before Daphne could protest any further, a pair of strong hands gruffly grabbed her by the wrists. Turning her head, Daphne realised with dismay that while she had been so focused on her sister being trapped in the quicksand, Jarvis and Perkins had returned and quietly snuck up behind her. Now the two evil butlers were lifting her up and between them they began to carry her to the study.

"Make sure she's well secured," ordered Ransom, "then get the memory-altering helmet powered up. We still have a large ransom to get from her agent and I would prefer it if she were made to be a bit more cooperative."

"Put me down you pair of nutcases!" protested Daphne as she was bundled into the study. With a final wicked chuckle, Ransom stepped inside after his two henchmen and closed the doors, leaving the spies to their fate.


	8. Spies To The Rescue

"Come on guys, we've got to save Daphne!" snapped Clover as she struggled to get out of the quicksand. Unfortunately, the heavy armour she was still wearing was making her sink faster than the others and she was already up to her waist in the gooey substance.

"Quick Clover, activate the instant outfit function on your compowder and get out of that heavy metal!" said Sam urgently.

"Duh, I already tried that," huffed Clover, "but my compowder won't work! It must have got smashed when you two jumped us a minute ago!"

"Well, someone better think of something quick," cried Alex almost on the verge of freaking out. "If we don't get out fast, we're gonna be in for one serious muck calamity!"

"No worries guys," said Sam confidently. "We've still got our jetpacks, remember!"

Sam quickly reached behind and hit the switch on her jetpack, which immediately sprung into life. With a fantastic roar, the jetpack pulled Sam clear out of the quicksand and she zoomed up to the top of the shaft.

Alex pressed the button on her jetpack, but it was still misbehaving after the fault it developed earlier and it refused to activate. Struggling not to panic, Alex jabbed at the button again and again, until the jetpack finally ignited and blasted her out of the deadly bog.

"Hey girls, what about me?" yelled Clover as the quicksand came up to her shoulders. Hurriedly, Sam and Alex whooshed back down and grabbed Clover's outstretched arms. The two girls pulled with all their strength, but the quicksand had more of a grip on Clover and refused to relent.

"Quick, Alex, let's try to increase the jet boost again!" gasped Sam, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she and Alex fought to keep their BFF from going down under.

Each using one hand to keep hold of Clover, the two flying spies used their respective free hands to fiddle with the controls on their jetpacks. There was a sudden blaze of fire and the spies swiftly skyrocketed upwards along with Clover who was finally pulled free.

"Thanks guys," breathed Clover as they landed on the marble floor. "That was a close one."

* * *

Daphne angrily rolled about on the sofa she had been dumped on as she struggled frantically against the ropes tied around her wrists and feet, while Ransom removed a large head-mounted device from his desk.

"Ah, I see it's already charged up perfectly," remarked Ransom with satisfaction as he began to make his way over to Daphne. The girl struggled even more, but Jarvis and Perkins gripped her shoulders firmly to keep her from escaping.

"Just relax, my dear," said Ransom with an evil smile. "In a few moments all your troubles will be over. Though if you don't cease struggling, I might inadvertently wipe all your memories and leave you as brainless as a turkey!"

Suddenly, the double doors of the study burst wide open and everyone in the room turned in surprise to see three furious-looking spies facing them.

"I thought I told you to keep your hands away from my sister, buster!" snarled Clover in such a manner that Ransom actually began to feel somewhat afraid.

 _"Gosh, I've never seen Clover so steamed up like this before!"_ thought Alex as the three of them prepared to do battle with the baddies.

"Don't just stand there you two," squeaked Ransom to his two henchmen. "Get them!'

Pulling themselves together, the two criminal butlers let go of their captive and charged at their attackers. However, the girls were ready for them this time.

Moving quickly, Alex leapt into the air and performed an aerial cartwheel, before impacting her feet directly with Perkin's face. The dazed butler was sent crashing into a nearby cabinet, whereupon a Ming Vase toppled off the top and fell right on top of his head, knocking him out cold. Alex swiftly dove over and grabbed the vase before it could impact with the floor and shatter into fragments, having miraculously avoided breaking when it hit Perkin's hard head.

"Whew, that would have been an expensive mess," grinned Alex as she put the vase safely down.

Not realising that his colleague was out of the picture, Jarvis swung a punch at Sam, but she swiftly bounded clear over his head and landed right behind him. Before Jarvis could gather his wits, Sam grabbed his arm and threw him right onto a Louis Quinze chair that broke into pieces under his immense weight. His head spinning, Jarvis grasped desperately at his shirt cuffs only to find that his signature gas bomb cufflinks were gone!

"Looking for these?" smirked Sam as she held out her hand to show the cufflinks that she had seized before she had tossed Jarvis over. As Jarvis struggled to his feet, Sam dove forward and delivered a butterfly kick to his chest, sending him flying right across the room and crashing into the wall.

"Ouch! Well played, young lady," Jarvis managed to weakly say, whereupon he slid to the floor, quite unconscious.

Meanwhile, Clover was having a face-off with Ransom, who had grabbed a sharp-pointed brass poker from the fireplace and was wielding it defensively.

"Okay mister, I'll teach you what happens to those who try to turn my sister into a human vegetable!" growled Clover.

"Not if I skewer you first, my dear!" retorted Ransom as he charged speedily at Clover with the fireplace poker. But even with the heavy knight armour on, Clover was still able to swiftly move out of the way and avoid the formidable weapon. Before Ransom had a chance to gather his wits, Clover delivered a karate chop to his arm, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the poker. Ransom staggered back and rubbed his aching arm, whereupon an irate Clover lashed out with her armoured knee and struck him right in the groin!

"Oof!" groaned Ransom who stumbled and crashed into his desk with such force that the memory-erasing helmet was knocked right into the air, before landing bang-on top of his head! The machine gave off a loud whirling sound and inbuilt lights began to flash on-and-off as Ransom's face suddenly turned vague and expressionless.

"Oops! I didn't mean for that to happen," cried out Clover as she dashed over and hurriedly pulled the machine off Ransom's head.

The villain blinked and looked at Clover in confusion. "Oh, hello. Who might you be?"

Now it was Clover's turn to stare. "Don't you remember? I'm one of the girls you kidnapped and tried to hold for ransom!"

"Oh, I see. And, um, who might I be?" asked Ransom with a clueless expression on his face.

"Oh boy, he completely wiped out his own memory!" realised Alex.

"Man, that was what he had in store for me," breathed Daphne as Clover came over and began to untie her.

"Don't fret, sis," said Clover, relieved that they had managed to save her sister in time. "I don't think he's going to try anything like that again."

There was a sudden flurry of activity from the main hallway as WOOHP agents suddenly burst through the main door and flooded into the large mansion, closely followed by Jerry who walked calmly into the study.

"Nice job as always, girls," congratulated Jerry as the three dazed baddies were taken away. "Sorry we didn't get here sooner, but we got caught in a traffic jam on the way over."

"No sweat, Jerr," smiled Sam. "Though I gotta admit, it did get a bit intense with the quicksand trap back there."

"Not to mention way messy," added Alex. "We're gonna have a hard time scrubbing our uniforms back home."

"No need to put yourselves through all that effort," said Daphne as she suddenly remembered something. "I saw this way high-tech launderette in the 'suite' that Clover and I escaped from. You can put your stuff through that!"

"Cool, but what are we going to do while we wait for our clothes to be done?" asked Sam.

"Well, I say we try out Lord Ransom's spa," answered Clover with a grin. "After all, it would be rude not to give it a try after he went to all that trouble setting it all up."

* * *

And so after getting Jerry to woohp up their spare swimwear from the penthouse, the girls were now happily lounging in the gloriously super-warm water of the Jacuzzi in the suite's spa room, while the other WOOHP agents got on with the clean-up job.

"Wow, now this is what I call first-class treatment!" sighed Sam contently.

"Totally! This so makes up for all the trouble we went through today," agreed Alex as she laid back and relaxed in the bubbling water.

Clover turned to look nervously at Daphne. "So, err, you still mad about the whole secret spy-thing?"

Daphne smiled and shrugged. "Nah, we're good. I can understand why you felt you had to keep it all hush-hush and I promise not to breathe a word about it to anyone, not even Trevor. I'm just way siked that my little sister has such an amazing and breathtaking career!"

"Ah, thanks sis," smiled Clover. "And I promise not to keep you out of the loop again. From now on, there'll be no more secrets between us sisters."

"Awesome!" said Daphne before turning her head to address Sam and Alex. "And to show how grateful I am to you two for saving my sister and me, I'm going to call my agent in the morning and arrange for the three of you to get VIP tickets for the upcoming Malibu fashion show."

"Wow, thanks!" exclaimed Sam and Alex in delight.

"My pleasure," grinned Daphne. "So how exactly did you girls get into this spy-lark anyway?"

The spies looked at one another and exchanged a nod, silently agreeing to start right at the beginning.

"Well Daph," began Clover, "it all started when…"


End file.
